


Stone Cold Creature

by karlo1469



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Aftermath of a Case, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Caring, Case Fic, Cuddling, Dean/Cas Reverse Bang, First Kiss, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Stone figures, djinn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-04-12 06:43:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19126702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karlo1469/pseuds/karlo1469
Summary: When a case comes up near the bunker the three brothers decide to go investigate it themselves, despite being a little rusty in the game. What they don’t realize is that this isn’t their normal djinn - now they have to figure out how to solve this case before it's too late.





	1. The Research

**Author's Note:**

> Here's my tribute to the DeanCasReverseBang, which was prompted by the beautiful picture drawn by Correlia, which can be found right [here](https://correlia-be.tumblr.com/post/185520103154/art-asterpost-for-the-dcrb-stone-cold-creature) on her tumblr and in chapter 5.  
> Also a massive thanks to my beta [Mallory](http://malallory.tumblr.com/) <3
> 
> enjoy reading :)

Dean was really starting to love life in the bunker. He felt very content with how his life was right now, from when he woke up in the mornings to fresh-brewed coffee and a big smile from Castiel to start his day, to researching and talking with Bobby, to joking around with Charlie or annoying Sammy.

They rarely went on hunts anymore themselves ever since they had set up the bunker as a sort of headquarters for all hunters in the States. They met new people every week, some needing shelter or just someone to stitch them up after a particularly bad hunt. They had even had visitors who just wanted to meet the famous Winchester brothers and decided to stop by on their way through Kansas.

Dean loved the attention, and though he had never been so keen on research, he liked to know that he was helping other people who didn’t have access to the same knowledge that they did. They were literally sitting on all lore available on every monster ever caught, and it had taken them a while to figure out how to go about their new job.

Charlie and Sam had been the ones to spend almost every waking moment diving down in the archives, categorising all of the lore, and figuring out a way to make a system to easily access it all. Charlie had programmed a whole new type of search engine, almost like the ones they had in libraries, where you could type in any little keyword and it would tell you which book or chapter you could look in to find specific lore. 

Mary and Bobby had been the ones answering phone calls on the most regular basis, and when they needed to find something, it was easy for them to type something into the database that Sam and Charlie had made to figure out where to look for the books in their library.

Jack had been standing by to help retrieve the books for them when they were extra busy, and when he didn’t help them he usually helped Castiel research weird cases to send hunters on that were currently not on a case.

Dean helped where he was needed, but most of his time he spent on cleaning the bunker and making it feel a home for them. He had spent a lot of time on cleaning out all of their extra rooms to accomodate newcomers who wanted to stay for a week or two. They were almost like a hunter hotel, spewing out knowledge and taking in stray hunters as they came.

Dean loved it. He always had something to do and he saw his whole family helping and taking care of other people. They had learned so much more about monsters he didn’t even know existed. Lately, Dean had actually been considering if it was time to officially retire from hunting and settle down into this life as a sort of hunter-helper.

Dean was passing by the library to go to the kitchen for a glass of water when Cas called his name. There was a flurry of activity in the room, what with their three guests who arrived yesterday helping with research for a case for another team they had recently sent off to Oklahoma to hunt a big nest of vamps.

“Come look at this,” Cas called again, not taking his eyes off of the computer screen as Dean approached him. Cas had seated himself as far away from the others as possible so as not to be disturbed, and had a notepad next to him with small notations that made no sense to Dean but he figured had something to do with the case Castiel was researching.

“Another case? You never tire, do you?” Dean said with a hint of a joking tone, putting a hand on Castiel’s shoulder, as he leaned forward to look at the computer screen.

“It sounds like there’s a djinn haunting down in Wichita, but the case seems a little more complicated than that. There’ve been sightings of blue light coming from the cemetery, but when the police have gone to investigate, they haven’t been able to find any of the missing victims,” Castiel explained, casting a glance up at Dean and finding him a lot closer than expected, leaning in to read the news article on the screen.

“It doesn’t sound like a regular djinn, so I’m not sure who would be fit to take on this case. What do you think?”

“We could take it. Just the good ol’ team, right?” Dean straightened up, clapping Cas on the shoulder before removing his hand. “It’s not too far and I’ve actually been getting a little restless. I’ll find Sam, see if it’s anything he’s interested in, and I’ll get Jack to round up some books on djinn lore we can look through before we leave. Sound good?”

“Yeah, it sou…” Cas began to say, but when he raised his gaze to look Dean in the eyes he found him already halfway across the room, on his way to find the others.

“Sammy!” Dean yelled, as he neared the table where there were beer bottles and papers  scattered all around.

There was a sound of acknowledgement from a nearby bookshelf, and Sam stuck his head out, a book in hand, and looked expectantly at Dean.

“We have a case. Nasty djinn. Pack a bag, we leave tomorrow morning,” Dean said, almost in passing, as he looked around for Jack. There was a flurry of movement around the room, but Jack was nowhere to be seen. “Is the kid in his room?”

“Yeah, I think so. What’s the case about?”

Sam put his book down at a nearby table, clearly intrigued, and turned towards Dean.

“Cas found it, so he’s got all the info,” Dean said as he swerved through the tables, barely sparing Sam a glance before he headed for the hallway. 

He knocked softly on the door to Jack’s newly-established room, the door opening under his hands since it had already been a bit ajar. Jack was sitting at his desk, writing in a notebook in front of him. “Hey, kid. You’ve been pretty good at finding your way around the library  —  you wanna help us with some research tonight?”

Jack, who had only turned slightly around to look at Dean, now almost flung himself from his chair out of pure excitement. His face lighting up, he answered, “I’ll be right there,” with a weird sort of pride in his voice, almost like he was honored to have been asked to help.

Dean closed the door behind himself and went back to where Cas and Sam were avidly discussing the points of the case. Mary was situated at the table nearby, clearly listening while she was researching a case herself on the computer in front of her.  Jack emerged from his room only minutes later, having apparently finished his letter, and they both joined in silently. Jack kept retrieving books, talking about how he had just seen a passage in this book about that and that book about this. As Cas searched on the computer, Sam read through his notes to get an overview of what they were working with. Charlie had stepped in to help, though she didn’t do much more than laugh at Dean’s occasional jokes, make affirming noises, and pipe in with an opinion whenever one of them read something aloud to hear each other’s thoughts.

“So none of the victims have been found? Not even dead?” Charlie asked, raising her cup of coffee to her lips for the fourth time since she asked for more information. “That seems strange, even for a djinn case.”

“Maybe they’re being hidden very well. Not all djinns are stupid enough to store people bleeding out in the only abandoned warehouse in town. The djinn is probably a local, living in a suburban white-picket fence house, and we’re gonna be the mean detectives who show up to answer some questions,” Dean said.

“Can I come?” Jack asked, eyes expectantly big.

Sam seemed to not know what to say, but Dean knew how big his attachment to the kid had grown since he had moved in, and chose to interrupt his brother before he even opened his mouth to answer.

“Cas will look after you, seeing as you still can’t fully control your powers,” Dean said, casting a look at Cas. “Right?”

“Oh, I mean… I can, but I assumed I was going too. I was the one who found the case, after all.”

“It’s just a djinn, we’ll be fine. It’s not like we haven’t done this for, what, 30 years?”

He could almost feel Cas rolling his eyes at him, even though he wasn’t looking at him. Sam’s face showed his feelings and it had Dean sighing.

“I want to come. I’ll be helpful, Dean.”

For the first time since Dean had entered the room, Mary piped up from the other table. “I’ll make sure Jack doesn’t turn the bunker to ashes while you’re all gone.”

That’s how the three men found themselves shoving duffel bags in Baby’s trunk at 8:00 p.m. the next morning, Dean eager to get started. 

Bobby was now in control of everything that went on in the bunker, and made sure no hunters went on cases they weren’t ready for. When Sam had expressed his concerns, Bobby did nothing but smile at him and say “Boy, I’ve got this. Go save some lives.”

Charlie had offered to keep researching the bunker’s lore to see if there was anything they had missed, and would call if she found anything. They were ready to get back out there, though Dean had mentioned, even before they started the car, that he was scared he might have gotten rusty from all of the time he had spent sitting around the bunker.

“Dean, I don’t think you, of all people, could ever forget how to hunt,” Sam had said, exasperation clear in his voice.

It took just under four hours for them to arrive in Wichita. The first thing they did was set up camp in a motel near the graveyard, where most of the missing people had last been seen.

They changed into suits and loaded their guns with silver bullets that would stun the djinn, just in case they ran into the sucker today. They had brought lamb’s blood to kill the djinn, but since Cas was still all angeled-up, he would be able to kill the djinn with a simple smite. Cas definitely took some of the fun out of the hunting, but Dean was getting old and creaky that he didn’t really mind that much. His body couldn’t take being flung across rooms anymore. All he wanted was for all of them to escape safe and sound after hunts. He didn’t want to lose his family, especially now, when they had all died so many times and come back to life. He didn’t want to take his chances anymore, because next time something happened to one of them it could be fatal and final. Dean wanted to die of old age, not from a fucking witch hunt. 


	2. The Investigation

They decided to split up. Sam headed to the police station first to get the official reports from the missing person profiles to help they determine what had really happened. Since none of the victims had shown up dead, at least not yet, they skipped going to the coroner’s office for once, which honestly made Sam a little glad. Groping dead people wasn’t his favorite part of the job.

As Sam got the files and asked around the police station, Dean and Cas headed out to talk to the families of the victims. Six people had officially gone missing and been reported to the police, but one of the newspapers Cas had found mentioned a homeless person that hadn’t been seen for a few days either, so they couldn’t really be sure of the complete number of victims they had to save.

“Let me do the talking, alright?” Dean said, as they stood in their ironed suits ready to knock on the wooden door in front of them.

Cas simply rolled his eyes, but didn’t say anything back, and let Dean introduce them and lead the conversations as they were invited in to the living room.

“It’s custom that we visit you with some follow-up questions, especially after… How long did you say your daughter had been missing?”

“It’s been almost a week. I’m so worried, but I’m sorry, I don’t have any more information. She would have called if she had access to a phone, and I already told the police this. My daughter always calls or at least sends a text. We were close, so it must mean that she has been kidnapped, or - or even worse…” She couldn’t finish the sentence, and the tears that had been silent a moment ago were now turning into sobs.

Dean looked uncertainly at Cas. Though Cas wasn’t the best at interacting with people, Dean was worse when it came to people showing emotions.

“We understand how hard it is, Mrs. Summers, but if you could just tell us if she ever had a problem with a boyfriend or a, um,” Cas shot a quick look at Dean, trying to gauge his reaction as he said his next words, “a girlfriend, that would be a big help. We won’t bother you anymore, as long as you’re not withholding information, that is.”

Dean cleared his throat, as if to say, “dude!” but Cas had turned his focus back to Mrs. Summers, who was now dabbing a tissue under her eyes in an attempt to gather herself.

“No, it was just me and her. As I said, we were close and she shared every detail of her life with me. There was no one else in her life.”

“You said in your report that you last saw her at home. So you know where she went, right?” Dean asked, having collected himself too.

“Her father died a few years ago. She visits his grave once a week. I usually go with her, but I didn’t this time and,” she said, her sobs breaking free once again, making it hard for her to control her shaking voice, “now she’s out there paying the price!”

Through her cries she was trying to apologize for being such a mess, but Cas quickly assured her that it was okay. “Anyone would be a mess if this happened to them,” he said. They left quickly after, afraid of upsetting her any more and sure that she didn’t have any more details to share that could be vital to the case.

They interviewed three other families, almost getting the exact same reaction at every house, and to no avail. They met up with Sam around lunchtime at a diner that was fancier than those roadside ones they used to eat at. Sam slapped the casefiles onto their table before Dean could even open his mouth to greet his brother.

“Get this, guys. Almost every victim was last seen at home, and been reported to have disappeared between their homes and the graveyard, as they all went to visit lost loved ones.”

“We know,” Cas answered, monotone and all, not even looking at Sam, as he flagged down the waitress to bring beer to their table. It made Dean’s grin wide to see Cas take so much after him and when he saw the annoyed face that Sam pulled at that his smile only grew.

“We thought we could go look at the graveyard later,” Cas suggested, as though it hadn’t already been decided by him and Dean earlier.

Sam cleared his throat, took a beer from the waitress as she reemerged, and waited until she left to say something again. “Yeah. Sure.”

Dean took a long drag of his beer as he slung his arm around to lean on the back of the seat he shared with Castiel. He tried to hide his smile in the mouth of his bottle.

 

The sun was barely going down when they took their first steps onto the cemetery grounds. They had gotten the names of almost every person the victims had come to visit, and some of the families had been helpful enough to give some navigation as to where they could find the graves. Except for some of them being unkempt and sprouting weeds the graves raised no suspicion. There was no goo or blood or scrape marks, but it didn’t surprise them all that much. Djinn tended to not leave a lot of traces at their crime scenes.

They combed through the graveyard for almost two hours before Sam pointed out that there was a mausoleum just behind the church. It was the only other building besides the church, but they hadn’t seen it upon their arrival as it was covered by big oak trees.

Tombstones everywhere was fine at a graveyard, but all of the statues scattered around the mausoleum seemed a bit frightening. If they had been a grieving family coming to talk or say goodbye to a loved one, they might even have been a little intimidated. There were different types of stone figures scattered all around the back of the mausoleum, some of them looking a little cracked and covered in vines. It wasn’t clear how long they had been standing there, as the vines were just as green as the trees above their heads. 

Dean was about to take his lock-picking kit out of his pocket, but right as he bent down to start working, he heard a soft “Dean” from right behind him. He looked over his shoulder at Cas, who simply stepped forward without another word and lifted his hand to the doorknob. Dean barely had time to blink before the flash of blue light was gone and the door before him stood wide open.

“I could have done that,” he insisted. Cas simply looked at him, unimpressed, and Dean shut up. If this was what traveling with the angel was like… it was actually really nice. It made the job a lot easier and quicker, though he would never admit that to Castiel. It would give the other man too much pleasure to hear.

“Those figures are creeping me out,” Sam said as he joined them, hand going for the gun in his waist as they entered the mausoleum together.

“Let’s just get this over with,” Dean said, flashlight and gun raised in front of him.

It wasn’t like one of those big rooms that Sam was used to seeing, with concrete tombs covering the walls. Instead it was just a big stone building, with urns raised up on pillars in the back of the room and stone plates engraved all over the floor, as though they had been buried down there instead. The three of them walked in and started looking around, but it didn’t appear as though there were any other rooms or a secret underground passageway.

“Wait, I think I found something,” Dean said, shortly after they had declared the room non-suspicious. Both Cas and Sam walked were quickly at his side to look over his shoulder, as he turned the thing he had found hidden in one of the urns around in his hand.

“It’s a hex bag.”

“Thanks, Cas, because I don’t have eyes myself,” Dean said sarcastically, as he rolled his eyes at Castiel’s words. He put the hex bag in his pocket and the lid back on the urn.

Sam turned to one of the other urns, and to his surprise, he found another hex bag stuffed inside. “Why would a djinn use hex bags?”

Dean sighed and motioned towards the door for them to leave. “Why do monsters always hide their stuff with dead people? This job is really gross sometimes.”

They circled around the back of the church to find where they had parked the Impala and drove back to the motel. Cas called Jack from the car to let him know about the recent development in their case, and asked him to look through their archives for something that resembled the case more than the first articles they had found on djinns. He didn’t say much else, and soon hung up, stuffed his phone in his pocket, and turned his head to simply stare out of the window.

“So?” Dean had to prompt. He was looking at Cas through the rearview mirror, and caught a pair of shiny blue eyes. If it wasn’t for the fact that he was driving, and would be risking the lives of the most important people in his life, he would have spent a few more moments looking into Cas’s eyes instead of tearing his gaze away to look back at the road.

“Charlie will send their results in an email,” was all that Cas said, and when Dean dared to look back to the backseat, Cas had once again turned his head towards the window.

Back at the motel they opened up laptops and casefiles on the little desk in the middle of the room, and Dean flung his jacket down on one of the two twin-sized beds - since Cas didn’t sleep they had decided it was easier to just get one room. There was no email yet, so Sam decided to search for some specific theory he had in mind, but wouldn’t tell the others about it yet. Dean declared he was going on a coffee run instead.

When he returned, both of the other men were eagerly reading on their computers, a comfortable sort of silence settled over the room. Dean sat down coffees in front of them and peered over Castiel’s shoulder.

There was a picture in the corner of a creature with limbs like an octopus, but much more human-like and scary-looking.

“What’ve you got so far? I don’t know what you’re looking at, Cas, but I can already tell you that’s not our djinn.”

Cas shot him a grumpy look as Dean dragged another stool over to the table to sit down between them. He grinned and winked back at Cas as he took a sip of his coffee.

“No, I know, Dean. The myth is pretty interesting, though, and I think this has something to do with the reason why our djinn is using hex bags.”

That made Sam’s head pop up too, and they listened intently as Cas recounted the facts from his source. “I found this article based on one of the myths Jack found. It says here that witches in the 1300s started using hex bags, not to curse people, but actually to keep other monsters out. So there would be specific mixes of ingredients for each creature to keep away ghouls, ghosts, vampires, every other monster that might come to disturb them in their affairs, or to steal the ingredients they had spent so long securing. In this case that would be our victims.”

“But why would it be necessary to go to such extreme lengths?” Sam asked.

“Well, the hex bags don’t just keep monsters out of the mausoleum, but from the whole churchyard, so I actually think it’s just a matter of convenience. It makes hunting much easier for the djinn,” Cas explained, folding his hands over his laptop, while he slowly closed it and looked at the two hunters in front of him.

“Which basically means that the motherfucker wouldn’t have to actually leave the church grounds to take people. He might have been standing right next to the building, looking at us scouting the place. That doesn’t explain what’s happened to the victims,” Dean said. “Maybe he’s letting them bleed out somewhere on the grounds, and that’s part of the reason why he needs to keep vampires out.”

Sam moved his coffee out of the way to turn the computer around to face the other men. “I actually think I found something that isn’t as far-fetched as it sounds.”

“Medusa?!” Dean exclaimed, before Sam could say anything else. “Really, Sam?”

“Hear me out, Dean. You know those stone figures we saw, right? It just didn’t feel right that there should be that many or that they were all gathered like that. I think they might be our victims, especially if we’re sure the djinn takes people from the churchyard. I think this is worth investigating.”

“Medusa turned people to stone with snake hair, Sam.”

Dean stood up and started pacing the room, draining his coffee and looking exasperatedly at Sam. “How would you explain the djinn turning people to stone, then?”

“Well, I kinda figured the hex bags had something to do with it, honestly. I just think it’s worth checking out, and if they’re regular statues, we go search the church instead. But if they’re our victims that just means we’re one step closer to solving the case.”

Cas was giving Dean a special look, one he only shared with Dean, and only when they both knew Dean was being was being difficult on purpose. Dean relented and picked up his car keys without another word. Cas gently put a hand on Dean’s arm on his way out the door, which made Dean’s stomach feel a little weird. He sucked in a breath as Cas bypassed him, his arm still burning where Cas’s hand had just been.

Soon they all found themselves once again driving back to examine the church grounds. The sun had gone all the way down now, and even though the moon had settled itself against the backdrop of the starry night sky, they still needed their flashlights so they wouldn’t be fumbling around like idiots.

They each took a side of the building. Some of the stone figures had been entirely covered in branches and vines, but they were draped over them, like the figures were supposed to be hidden instead of as a natural result of time and nature.

Sam had brought a picture from one of the case files, and was comparing it to the figures to see it they looked similar.

“They’re definitely suspicious, that’s for sure, Sammy,” Dean said, as he rounded the corner and came to a stop beside Sam.

“Look.” Sam held up the picture in his hands right next to the stone figure in front of him. “This is her.” He straightened up, having had to bow down because of his ginormous limbs, and looked Dean in the eyes, his gaze revealing how terrified he had actually been that he would be right. “These are all our victims, Dean.”

“Guys,” Cas called barely a moment later. They found him surrounded by leaves and branches on the ground, having clearly ripped them off from the figure he was looking at. He was leaning fairly close to the person’s neck, running his fingers over something they couldn’t yet see in the darkness. “There are puncture wounds here. It’s hard to see because they’re stone, but I would guess the djinn is still somehow sucking them dry to remain strong.”

“We have to figure out how to turn them back. We have no idea if they’re suffering worse than they would from a normal djinn.” Sam nodded his head towards the parking lot behind the church, and with a small, sad smile, said, “Late night study session?”


	3. The Fight

They spent the most of the night researching, until Sam slammed his book shut and stretched until he was nearly toppling backwards. Dean and Castiel slowly did the same, Dean having sprawled on top of the covers of his bed.

“I need some goddamn sleep,” he announced, moving until he was lying on his back on the bed and could stare up at the ceiling. He closed his eyes as he said, “This is the weirdest monster I’ve ever hunted. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was Medusa herself, what with all the crap we’ve seen through the years.”

Sam snickered in the corner.

“It’s certainly not an easy case,” Cas said. “I’ll keep researching while you sleep.”

Sam had just wandered out into the bathroom and left Dean and Cas alone in the room. Dean wiggled out of his comfortable position, removed their printed out articles from the bed and went over to put them back on the table with their laptops. They only owned two laptops, and since Dean wasn’t as advanced in technology as the others, (he knew his way around a porn site and the most generic search engines, but that was mostly it), he had been demoted to reading the research the others found.

“No, Cas, you should rest too. Even an angelic brain can’t soak in that much information all the time. Turn the tv on; it’ll be good for you, I promise.” Just as Dean was about to lay a hand on Cas’ shoulder to give him a reassuring squeeze, Sam re-entered the room, clad in pjs and hair all shaggy.

Since the tv was turned towards the beds and couldn’t be seen from the table, nor moved, Dean found Cas sitting at the bottom of his bed when he reemerged from the bathroom himself. The light had been turned off and Sam was already under the covers. Cas didn’t say a word as Dean crawled under the covers, but Dean could almost feel the small smile the angel had on his lips behind his back.

 

It was 8:16 a.m. when Dean awoke, the motel room smelling like coffee, and only Cas on one of the computers in the middle of the room. He had to admit, except for the fact that it was a little creepy knowing someone was watching him sleep all night long, he hadn’t had a restless night for once in a very long while. He felt very well rested despite not having slept for that long. His voice was raspy with disuse, and he could smell his own morning breath when he asked Cas about the whereabouts of his brother.

“A man in his mid-twenties have gone missing. The report came a little over half an hour ago, so Sam’s back at the police station to pick it up and question the relative who called it in.”

“What?” Dean asked, surprised and a little horrified too. He nearly tripped while trying to pull on his pants, as he turned around to look at Cas. “When? We spent a lot of time near the creature’s lair yesterday and we didn’t see anyone!”

“It sounds like it was while we were interviewing families yesterday. Sam should be heading back now, but if the details are the same as the other victims, I think we already found him yesterday when we searched the grounds.”

There was a sorrowful look in Cas’ eyes as he said those words, and Dean knew how he felt. They had no idea how to turn those people back to normal, and if the djinn or witch or whatever the hell it was kept taking people, they wouldn’t stand a chance. Of course they wanted to save as many people as possible, but if there was no solution… then it just couldn’t be done. 

“We have to stop this monster.” Dean turned to his duffel bag on the floor to look for his gun. As soon as he found it, he cocked it, put it in the waistband of his pants, and turned back around. “Now.”

Cas hurriedly put together some papers and slapped the top of the laptop down, as he followed Dean’s lead. As soon as Dean opened the door and was about to exit, though, he nearly ran into Sam, who took a big step back in shock. Thank god for giant limbs, or they would have crashed into each other.

“God, Sammy.” Dean put a hand over his heart, as Sam simply stared at him with wide eyes. Before Sam had time to react, Dean pointed to the envelope in Sam’s hand and asked, “What’s the news?”

Cas stood in the doorway, shoes half-on, staring at the two brothers.

“Where are you going?” Sam asked, completely ignoring Dean’s question.

“I’m going to kill that sonofabitch, before he  _ actually _ kills someone. Who’s to say our best bet isn’t killing the motherfucker and everybody will turn back to normal?”

“That sounds rash, Dean. What if the monster has the only spell that can turn people back? Haven’t you figured out by now that research always gives the best solution?”

“I don’t care, Sammy,” he said, to which he got a loud sigh from Sam. “Cas, help me out here, man.”

With a stricken look, Cas was staring right back at the two brothers, whose eyes had suddenly turned to him.

“I think…” He cleared his throat, and lowered his voice, so they wouldn’t be alarming their neighbours anymore than they probably already had. “We could monitor the place for a while, but if the monster doesn’t show up I don’t see why there should be any reason to confront him before we have more information on how we’re going to save the victims.”

Dean threw a hand out towards Cas, as if to say “I told you so” but took it back down when Sam gave him the ultimate bitch-face.

“Let’s go. If you’re putting that down, take my coffee with you, bitch,” Dean said, as he nodded towards the case file in Sam’s hand before heading towards the Impala.

“Jerk,” was the only response he got, but he felt smug when he saw Sam return with two coffees in hand, Cas already sipping from his own cup from the backseat.

Dean parked the car almost on top of a grave. The mausoleum was surrounded by a lot of big, dense trees, so they had to park almost under one of those trees to get even a little outlook.

Time went by slowly, the minutes dragging on as they sat in the car. The coffee disappeared after 20 minutes and all that was left was soft rock music playing in the background of their short, uninteresting conversations, as they anxiously waited for the monster to show up.

Dean was about to call it quits when there was movement around the back of the mausoleum. His hand was already reaching for the door when Sam pulled him back into the car.

“Relax; it might just be the groundskeeper.”

They figure was circling around the building. It was hard to spot anything from their point of view and after barely five minutes Dean was moving out of the vehicle again. “I’m going in. I don’t care who that is  —  I’m fighting that motherfucker.”

“Dea-” Cas said, reaching a hand forward to the driver’s seat to rest it on Dean’s shoulder and hold him back, but his voice fell on deaf ears. Dean had already exited the car in one swift movement, walking briskly ahead as he pulled his gun from his waistband. Sam glanced at Cas, eyes full of worry, and together they left the car too, careful not to slam the doors too loudly and attract unwanted attention. Dean was halfway across the area already, back low and head bowed as he skimmed the area around the building, but there was no one around anymore, at least not that he could tell.

Sam and Cas caught up with him mere moments after he had left the car, their breaths the only sound in the air as they scouted the grounds. There were some general hand gestures thrown around to indicate which way they would go. They split up to go in opposite directions to circle around the mausoleum. There was still no sign of whoever was outside before, and they all met at the door. Cas blasted the door open when Sam nodded at him, and they all raised their weapons to ready for a fight against whatever creature they were going to meet.

Before they had even taken so much as a single step, there was a loud bang accompanied by what felt like an enormous gust of wind. The doors slammed shut and they were all thrown back hard by what could only have been the blowback of some sort of spell.

Sam got knocked out when he hit one of the pillars containing a vase, which shattered on the floor as it fell. Dean worriedly cradled his gun, trying to crawl over to his brother, barely having cast a single glance up at the creature who did this.

Cas was the first one up, and right there in front of him, with eyes glowing bright and blue, was the djinn that they’d been hunting. Cas made the mistake of looking right into the eyes of the djinn and time seemed to freeze for a moment, but a single moment was all it took.

A moment where Cas seemed to stand still as if he was rooted to the ground and unable to move a muscle, despite the fact that his hand was glowing as blue as the djinn’s eyes. From the moment they got knocked down, he’d been firing up his angels powers to strike back and hit the djinn with a taste of his own tricks, but Cas’s fire died in his hand just as soon as it had come. He had been powering up, the lights in the room flashing. Cas had been in the midst of showing just how powerful he was by revealing the shadow of his wings, but the it didn’t seem to frighten the djinn, though. 

Dean was watching, mouth agape and face shocked, looking as stricken as if he had just been smacked across the face.

Castiel had been turned to stone. The blazing fire from the djinn’s eyes seemed to block out everything else, and Cas’s vision turned dark as soon as the cold rushed into his blood and settled in his body. His wings had been caught, too. Stoic and proud, he stood in front of the wooden door as a stone statue, blocking it from opening. His wings were fully extended, feathers looking ruffled even as stone. His hands were outstretched for a fight, his angel blade forgotten on the floor beneath him, a stern look on his hardened, blank face. 

They hadn’t anticipated this. Maybe they would have been more afraid of the creature and proceeded with more caution if they had known beforehand what it could do. Did they forget how to research properly or was this the first djinn of its kind? It didn’t matter now; all that mattered was figuring out how to reverse the spell, or powers as it were, of the djinn.

Dean was horror-struck, mouth still open while his mind was trying to process what had just happened as quickly as he could. He scrambled over to Sam, shaking him, trying to get him to awaken, and checked that his gun was loaded. As they were still on the ground, Dean had to bend down even lower to look around the now-stone Cas to get a good shot of the djinn that wouldn’t injure his best friend, but the djinn suddenly wasn’t there anymore.

“Shit,” he murmured.

They had checked the mausoleum the day before and found no other ways out than the front door, which they were currently lying against, and it wasn’t a big room. Dean couldn’t fight the djinn alone  —  not right now, not when they knew he turned people to stone just by looking at them  —  but Sam wasn’t much help.

While Dean got to his feet, Sam finally came to, sputtering and groaning, as he took in the scene of the room.

“Dean? Wha-” He paused when he noticed Cas and his current predicament. “Oh,” was all he had to say. Sam put a hand on his head while supporting himself on the wall to help push him off of the floor. He must have hit the pillar pretty hard, as he was feeling dizzy and swayed a little where he stood.

“Djinn’s still here, Sammy,” Dean said without looking at him, eyes darting around the room to figure out where the djinn could have hid.

Sam was quick to pull out his gun too, loading it up and pointing it at the ground as he stepped over the glass shards and circled the other side of the room.

“Don’t look into his eyes,” came a warning from Dean. Right as he said that, the djinn sprang up from behind him, grabbing him in a headlock and trying to almost twist his head off. “Sam!”

Caught off guard, Dean was trapped in the monster’s hold so tightly that he already felt like he was going to pass out after only seconds had gone by. Sam tackled the monster, taking all three of them down at once, but at least he got Dean out of the djinns’ arms.

The djinn rolled over and out of their reach, sprang up on his feet, and made a run for the still-closed door. All he had to do was hold out a hand and the door flew off its hinges, splinters flying everywhere as the door fell down onto the grass.

The djinn sprinted as fast as he could, but Dean was quicker. While still lying on his back he lifted his gun and pulled back the trigger, putting a bullet right through the back of the monster.

It didn’t seem to faze the djinn, though. His body seemed to only shudder violently with the impact, but his steps didn’t falter for a moment as he kept on running. Sam was already running after the monster, gun raised high and aiming for the same spot Dean had just hit. Sam put one and then two bullets through the creature, but it didn’t seem to have do more than stun him for a short second. This was one tough monster. 

“Fuck,” Dean swore, as he struggled to get to his feet as fast as he could. “We’re so screwed.” He ran, a little haltingly because his leg was still kind of sleeping from the loss of blood from when his airway had been cut off, but didn’t catch up with Sam until the monster was already out of sight.

“He’s gone,” Sam said needlessly, putting his gun back in place and wincing almost unnoticeably when he touched his back, which was the part of his body that had been thrown hardest against the pillar.

“He’ll be back.” Dean sighed, and spun in circles to look for where the monster could have disappeared to, as an attempt to hide that he was struggling for breath after running such a short distance. “Let’s go get Cas.”

Confused, but complying nonetheless, Sam followed Dean back to the mausoleum.

They already had trouble carrying Cas before, when he was only flesh and blood, and with only the two of them it was even harder now that he was literally stone. Dean couldn’t hide his frustration and ended up snapping at Sam, who was trying very hard to be calm for them both, despite the fact that he was feeling uneasy about the situation too.

In the end they didn’t do more than move Cas a few inches, and there was a collective sigh as they realised this wasn’t going to work. Sam suggested leaving Castiel there for however long it took them to figure out how to turn him back, but the idea made Dean feel queasy. After a few more attempts of trying to lift Cas’ body, he couldn’t do anything but relent and follow Sam back to the Impala. Barely two minutes later they were on their way back to the motel room.

“We’ll figure it out, Dean. Don’t worry.”

Dean was a nervous wreck, tapping his hands against the steering wheel. He hadn’t even bothered to turn the radio on. He felt way too anxious to answer Sam’s reassurances.

Sam pulled his phone out and was talking into it before they even pulled out onto the road. He was talking fast, anxious too, and tried to retell the story to Mary, even if he was unconscious for a great deal of it. It sounded to Dean, from what he could hear coming from the receiver in the silence of the car, like Mary was pulling out one reassurance after the other, trying to calm Sam down. It seemed to work too, because the phone was back in his pocket before they arrived back at the motel and Sam was breathing steadily beside Dean.

Dean felt like his chest was constricting. He wished he could be as calm as Sam right now, but he felt like he had been knocked hard in the stomach and had all the breath knocked out of him. He caught himself before he looked in the rearview mirror to find Cas’ eyes, remembering that Cas was back at the cemetery as a stone statue.

“You go ahead, Sammy,” he said as they stepped out of the car. “I’ll go get us some grub. You start researching.”

“Okay,” came the reply from Sam. He didn’t need telling twice, and from the way he saw Dean’s hands shaking before they were stuffed into his jacket pockets, he knew that Dean needed a little time alone to get some fresh air to clear the thoughts in his head. Sam knew that Dean only allowed himself to really feel anything when he was alone. He wasn’t one for voicing his feelings nor was he good at expressing how he felt.

Sam felt like he needed a shot of espresso to dissolve the fog in his brain.


	4. The Backup

They had spread every news article thin, scoured the internet, had Charlie look through their archives once more, but there was nothing to be found on the subject other than being affected directly by a witch’s spell. A djinn that turned people to stone was definitely something it seemed like no one had ever encountered before.

Dean was getting angrier and angrier as the minutes ticked by. The walk that he took didn’t help to clear his mind at all.

Four cups of coffee later and he was so frustrated that he threw his hands up in the air and stated that he was done.

“I don’t… I just don’t get it, Sammy.  How could we have missed anything?”

“I don’t know, Dean,” Sam said with a sigh, pushing the book in front of him aside in favor of the last drop of his now-cold coffee. “I’m getting confused too. Maybe we need to approach this differently? I mean, the djinn is still out there, so maybe we can trap him and get him to talk instead?”

“So torture, Sam, that’s your big idea,” was the answer Sam got, Dean’s voice muffled behind his hands as he dragged them down over his face.

“You got anything better?”

Dean sent Sam an incredulous look. He had thought they were old enough by now to know that, monster or not, torture was never the easiest way to get answers nor the right way. Most of the times the monsters preferred to be killed than actually help provide them with the solutions, and Dean had definitely gotten the impression that this djinn was exactly like that.

Before Sam could answer his phone started to ring from somewhere under their pile of papers. He fished it out, stood up, and wandered over towards their beds as he answered. “Mom?”

Dean sharpened his ears and listened intently as Sam nodded, made affirmative noises, said “yes” a lot, but Dean still didn’t get any idea about why she was calling.

“Bunker emergency,” Sam says as he hung up. “They can’t find Jack.”

He looked like he was contemplating something, as he pursed his mouth and stared down at the phone in his hand. Dean waited patiently for him to continue.

“If he’s not back in a few hours, I’m going back home-” Sam held up a hand as Dean opened up his mouth to protest. “We’re the closest thing to family he’s got, Dean, and Cas isn’t here to take care of him, which is probably why he ran away in the first place!”

“When did they notice he was gone?” Dean asked, carefully trying not to upset Sam even more.

“He wasn’t there when they woke up this morning, so they don’t know when he left or where he went. I thought maybe I could help them, but I know it isn’t ideal for you to hold down the fort here, it’s just…” He trailed off, unsure of what to say. One wasn’t more important than the other; they were both family, but Dean could take care of the situation here. Besides, Dean and Cas shared a special bond, just as Sam and Jack were close because they were so similar  —  which was why it made sense to view them as two different cases and take on one each.

“It’s alright, Sammy. At least then we won’t have time to torture the monster, huh?” He said it jokingly, but he could see on Sam’s face that he didn’t find it funny. Dean sighed and stood up to gather his gun and car keys. “I’ll drive you to the bus station.”

Not ten minutes later, duffel in hand, Sam was purchasing a ticket for the next bus that would take him to Lebanon. It didn’t leave for another hour, so they decided to go get some dinner while they waited, since it was nearly 8:00 p.m. now.

They paid a hefty tip and walked back out to the car, only to see a figure leaning against Baby’s hood in the dark. They walked cautiously until the figure began to look familiar, which had Sam springing forward before the face had even been registered itself in Dean’s mind.

“Jack!” he nearly yelled, almost an accusatory note in his voice. Sam looked dumbstruck, like he didn’t know what else to say, and enveloped Jack in a hug instead.

“I didn’t know where you were, so I was lucky I found your car,” came the answer from Jack. Sam pulled away and looked at Dean instead, still not knowing what to say.

“Why did you just run away like that, kid? You could’ve at least left a note, maybe told someone where you were going?” Dean said.

“Oh.” Jack looked confused. “I had to come and help Castiel.” He looked back and forth between the two brothers with a shake of his head. “You told us last night what had happened to him. I’m sorry, I thought it was obvious where I had gone.”

“We were just worried, that’s all,” Sam said, having regained his voice. “Everybody at the bunker still is. I even bought a bus ticket to go help them find you.” He held the ticket up, like Jack needed proof that he had been ready to drop the case and come running to his rescue instead.

“Waste of money,” Dean murmured, but if the other two had heard him they showed no sign of it. 

“I’m sorry,” Jack repeated.

“Yeah, well, we’re just glad you’re okay.” Dean looked pointedly at Sam, as if to say ‘back me up here’. “And _ safe _ ,” he added, thinking that anything could have happened to the kid while on his way here, since he still wasn’t in full control of his powers yet and really wasn’t that used to the world around him. “How did you even get here?”

Jack pointed to the bus stop behind him, his eyes glinting with pride and grinning from ear to ear, as if he couldn’t quite believe himself that he had been capable of using public transportation.

He relayed the story of his bus ride, telling them about the old man who had sat next to him, who had told him stories of the hard work involved in starting his own vegetable garden. They couldn’t do anything but roll their eyes at Jack, who still wouldn’t stop beaming. He would probably try to convince them to start their own garden as soon as they got back home, but as long as he were happy they didn’t mind.

Sam and Dean quickly learned how hard it is to lecture a brand-new Nephilim on how irresponsible it is to run away without leaving a note, when said Nephilim is able to transport himself around as he’d like  —  as soon as he learns to control his powers, that is. In the car Jack also said that had been the reason why he had taken the bus, because he was too afraid of accidentally landing on another continent and having no idea at all how to get home.

The sun was long gone, they were sated and tired, the coffee and their nerves finally wearing off, and they were ready to call it a night. Sam left the bus ticket on his seat as he exited the car, and then pulled his phone out to tell Mary that Jack was with them.

“Let’s get some sleep, kid,” Dean said, clapping his hand down on Jack’s shoulder and steering him towards their motel room. Dean was still nervous about the fact that they still hadn’t cracked the case or even killed the monster, and that all of its victims, Cas included, were still turned to stone. They had to figure this out, and preferably as soon as possible. Cas’s life could be in danger.

 

It was mid-morning when they received a call from Charlie. She had been digging around the archives all morning and had found the myth of Medusa. Dean was thinking that his eyes may get stuck if he kept rolling his eyes like he was doing right now, but Jack and Sam listened attentively. She rambled for a bit, tried to explain how she thought it might be connected  —  though much of what she said barely made any sense  —  before she finally told them what she had concluded from her research.

“Basically it says here that when they decapitated her it killed the snakes on her head too, and since they were the ones turning people to stone every victim was turned back again.”

“So we need to kill the source that’s turning the victims to stone?” Sam asked. They were sitting around the table, the phone between them, except for Dean. He had refused to participate in the conversation, his mind too clouded and worried to actually listen to reason right now. He was sitting like a petulant child on the foot of the bed, his arms crossed and visibly pouting. Dean wanted to act right now, to feel like he was making a difference and actually trying to save the people, instead of just sitting around talking about it.

“I don’t know, but it’s worth a try, I guess.” It was clear to hear in Charlie’s voice how uncertain she was, but at this point they were so lost they would try it all. They couldn’t even be sure of how long the first victim had been there, nor how long they were able to survive in the state they were in. It was safe to say their worry for Castiel’s well-being had made them aware of just how much this case needed to be solved.

They weren’t sure it was going to work, but they gathered their things and got ready to take down the djinn. Despite the fact that they found hex-bags, they were pretty sure it wasn’t a curse having to be reversed, so they were guessing that killing the sucker and thereby killing the source of magic he had in his eyes was their best bet. If it didn’t work, well… then they’d have to just go from there.

Jack offered to go alone, seeing as he was the one full of angelic powers, but the boys wouldn’t even let him finish his sentence. They couldn’t let him turn to stone too.

They got lucky. The creature was already there when they arrived on the grounds, just outside of the mausoleum, circling around as though he were keeping track of how his victims were doing.

There was barely even a fight. They ran quick and soundless to the building, hoping to have the element of surprise on their side. When they approached the djinn Jack immediately put out his hand to blast the creature away, barely giving any of them time to react.

Sam and Dean got knocked down once again, but luckily they were outside this time. They landed on the soft grass, several feet away from the stone figures, while the djinn hit the side of the building and get knocked unconscious. They hurried to get up, but despite the fact that they were quick to do so this time it didn’t even matter. Jack was already bending down in front of the djinn.

He moved his hand to the djinns forehead, barely even touching him, and blue light erupted from his hand. With no eyes left in his skull the djinn’s lifeless body was expressionless and felt much less dangerous to be near. A beat passed, but there was no sign of movement around them, except for a still breeze that shook the leaves on the trees gently. They were still surrounded by solidified victims, despite the fact that the djinn was dead.. So removing the djinn’s eyes  _ and _ killing him hadn’t worked like it in the myth about Medusa.

Dean sighed. The myth had been a myth after all. He turned around immediately to run towards the mausoleum to check on Cas, the other two following in his wake.

Silent tears streamed down Dean’s face as he stood there, just as still and motionless as Cas, simply staring out into the air. Nothing had happened. Killing the djinn was supposed to turn people back, but it looked like the only thing it did was kill a monster. Now they had even fewer options than before to learn how to reverse the spell and revive the victims.

Jack and Sam were standing back, not making any noise as they watched Dean. Jack was astounded, too scared to even move, and could do nothing but stare at Castiel. It was tearing something apart inside of him to see a person he deemed a father figure standing in front of him, almost looming over him with his wide wings, but having been frozen and solidified by a simple glance from a stupid monster.

Sam got rid of the body with no hassle, quickly scooping the djinn up into his arms and putting him on the fastest makeshift pyre he had ever had to do. Both Jack and Dean were too gripped with the feeling of fear and loss to be of much help, so he had left them alone for a moment while he took care of the practicalities.

Sam took Jack to the library afterwards, thinking that a change of scenery would hopefully help them look differently at their research, while Dean went back to the motel room.

He called Charlie in the car, putting the phone up on the dashboard while he navigated the car around town. He didn’t know how to put a name to what he was feeling; he just knew that he was feeling a lot of things all at once and it was confusing the hell out of him. While they were running around researching and killing monsters Cas was back there, waiting and probably scared shitless that he might die, just as Dean was. 

Charlie couldn’t cheer him up, despite her valid attempt. Dean had paced around more than he researched, but he was sure that Jack and Sam would make up for what he couldn’t find the concentration for right now. He didn’t feel like he could do anything right now, let alone breathe easily, before they found out how to get Cas back. He  _ needed _ to get Cas back.


	5. The Rescue

When Sam and Jack got back to the motel room Dean barely glanced up at them, too enthralled in the tv show he was currently watching. Sam was looking at Dean like he had somehow sprouted two heads, even though they saw each other less than two hours ago. Sam brought back a coffee for Dean, who was thankful but also reminded that he hadn’t eaten anything in a while.

Jack walked directly over to the table and sat down with his back to Dean, immediately opening up one of their computers. Dean was suddenly a little worried, as Sam was still standing halfway into the room, looking at him uncertainly.

Turning the tv off, Dean turned his head towards his brother and almost barked out his words. “What, Sam?”

Dean was already annoyed with Sam over the words he didn’t say out loud, and couldn’t help but roll his eyes at his brother.

“We found something,” Sam said, “but you’re not going to like it.” He held out a piece of paper in his hand, clearly hesitant to give it to Dean, the obvious discomfort showing in the way he was shifting his body.

Dean almost tore the paper out of Sam’s hand. Except for the choking noise that came from Dean’s throat as he read the first sentence, the room was exceptionally quiet. Sam was standing at the foot of the bed, wringing his hands.

“Huh,” Dean said. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the paper. He made a grunting sound and rose from the bed without looking up. He couldn’t stop staring down at the paper he was holding, stunned speechless and mind numb.

The first sentence read “true love’s kiss”.

Cas and Dean had always had a special bond, a different kind of connection than Sam and Cas had, and different than the way it felt for Sam and Dean to be brothers, but it wasn’t like _that_. It wasn’t romantic… was it?

Dean was beginning to doubt himself and his feelings even more than he used to, as he re-read that one sentence over and over again.

Dean suddenly exploded in a fit of rage, his outburst unexpected and loud. “You’re wrong,” he was yelling, and “It’s not as simple as that, Sammy,” he accused.

“I’m not gay,” he screamed, right before the door was slammed behind him on his way out of the room. Jack and Sam were left staring at the spot where he had been standing totally calm less than a minute ago.

Cas didn’t love Dean like that. Not that _he_ loved Cas either, but… The thoughts were running wild in Dean’s mind. He climbed into the Impala without a destination in mind and started driving. He couldn’t stop thinking about how every time he touched Cas’s shoulder a shock of electricity shot up his arm, how kindly Cas spoke to him and what his words meant. Maybe they weren’t like brothers were supposed to be, but they were still just friends, right? The more he thought back on his past with Cas, the more he realized that their relationship had changed over the years. He couldn’t convince himself that it hadn’t. He felt frustrated, but he couldn’t keep denying what had always lain under the surface of every shared glance or comforting touch.

Before he reached the highway he had to pull the car over. Dean took a moment to breathe while he leaned his head on the steering wheel in front of him. At that point he realized that he never finished reading the rest of the note Sam gave him.

The things on this list are ridiculous, he couldn’t help but think. The aforementioned true love’s kiss was first on the list, but the rest involved drinking the tear of a loved one (they hadn’t even specified who was supposed to drink whose tear), a blood pact that can only work for true loves, and the last sentence simply states “virgin sacrifice.” Dean couldn’t even be sure of whether or not that was a joke, because they had gotten desperate in the last couple of days. If the other options didn’t work out they probably wouldn’t hesitate to try out the last one, just for good measure.

Dean had driven across town before his mind had even decided on it. The note was forgotten on the driver’s seat as he exited the car and walked slowly over to the stone figure of his best friend for what he hoped would be the very last time.

Once there he took a moment to really look at Castiel. Though they might have left most of their feelings unsaid, the looks they shared spoke volumes instead. There had always been an understanding between them that their relationship couldn’t be compared to that of a mundane pair of adult men.

The more he stared into the face in front of him, the more he came to realize that he wouldn’t mind kissing Cas. He couldn’t think of a single reason why it should feel wrong for him to want to hold Cas’s hand. They were more than just best friends. Flirting with other people had always been fun and games with Dean, but he didn’t tend to just flirt with people for no gain, and damn, he had shot many flirtatious remarks towards Cas. He liked to wink at the guy to throw him off or confuse him, but if Dean was really honest with himself, he wouldn’t have enjoyed doing that with anyone else. For some reason the thought didn’t sit right in his gut and almost made him feel sick.

“Cas.” Dean reached out a hand towards Cas and put it gently on his cheek. He was already choking up, despite the fact that Dean Winchester was a man who rarely cried. On this occasion, though, he had trouble keeping a level head as the tears prickled behind his eyes and squeezed his throat tight.

“God, Cas, I’m so sorry. I should have stopped you from coming on this hunt with us, and then this wouldn’t have happened,” Dean said.

He thought for an instant about the list still sitting in his Baby and before he could second-guess himself he leaned forward to press his lips against Castiel’s cold ones. It was a chaste peck of a kiss, but he still didn’t dare to open his eyes as he leaned back, in fear that Cas would open up his eyes, wide and shocked, and look at him with disgust on his face.

Nothing happened.

The tears began rolling down Dean’s cheeks as he stood there staring at the stone figure in front of him, still clinging onto him with one hand on his cheek.

Dean couldn’t remember when he last felt this afraid and angry at the same time, and the tears clouding his vision weren’t helping at all. He removed his hand to wipe angrily at his eyes, then pulled a knife out of his inside pocket and sliced it across his palm until he had made a gash big enough to make blood surge forward. He very carefully did the same thing to one of Cas’ outstretched hands, the knife going surprisingly easy through the stone. He winced from the slight wound when wiping the bloody knife on his jacket before putting it back.

“Please work,” he whispered, taking a deep breath, before gently pressing his bleeding hand against Cas’s. The silence was deafening and Dean closed his eyes in dread. He moved his mouth silently along with the prayers playing on repeat in his head, asking God to please save Cas, asking Cas to please come back, spooling the words forwards and backwards and putting them in a constant loop. He barely noticed how he had leaned his head on Cas’s shoulder, his breath coming in heavy waves to land on the other man’s neck nor how tightly he was gripping to the front of Cas’s shirt with his previously unoccupied hand.

He didn’t notice how slow fingers curled around his in a loosened hold, how the neck he was so close to slowly warmed under his touch, until he heard the exhalation of a single word with so much meaning behind it that he knew so well by now.

“Dean,” Cas said.

Their initial shock of being caught in each other’s arms were evident on both of their faces, but it wore off as quickly as it had appeared. Without thinking about it Cas interlocked their fingers while bringing his hands down from his sides. When he had been turned back from stone the shadow of his wings had also disappeared and Dean needed to blink a few times to fully comprehend the now-normal, human-looking, very much alive Castiel standing right in front of him, holding his hand.

The tears were still falling down Dean’s cheeks, but the giant smile he had plastered on his face overshadowed the fact that he had been sad just a minute ago. Right now all he could feel was the relief and happiness of actually being able to look into Cas’s eyes once again.

His body had unwillingly wrapped around Cas, pulling him in for a tight hug, both of them still breathing shakily in the silent room. When Dean took in a sharp breath as Cas squeezed his hand reassuringly, as if to say “Yes, this is real, I’m right here in your arms and I’m not going anywhere”, Cas used his powers to heal their wounded hands. The light streamed out from between their fingers, a strange pattern dancing on the walls for just a second, leaving their hands unscathed.

It had taken them a while to finally step away from one another, but they didn’t stop holding hands until they were standing right in front of the motel room. By an unspoken agreement they let go of each other when Dean took ahold of the doorknob and stepped over the threshold. His smile hadn’t lessened since Cas had uttered his name earlier and the rest of his family could see that something had happened as soon as they saw him enter the room, simply from the way his face was lighting up.

They spotted Cas immediately after and Sam’s worried pout turned into an exact mirror of the smile plastered on Dean’s face. The reunion was joyful, despite the fact that Cas was the victim who got off the easiest, but they had all been worried about him.

Every stolen look between Dean and Cas were brimming with a newfound potential for romance and Dean felt hopeful for the future for once.

Calls were made to the extended family, Charlie on one phone, Mary on another, Bobby on a third. They were all elated to hear the good news, stating that there would be a welcome feast when they got home the next evening.

Cas and Jack were having a quiet conversation, all the while Sam was shooting Dean knowing looks from across the room. The meaning behind the looks were coming across quite clear as he glanced back and forth between Dean and Cas, waggled his eyebrows at them and grinned out loud when Dean had to avert his eyes. Not that Dean was blushing. It was just… it was just really hot in here, okay, and this thing between him and Cas wasn’t even a thing yet. Sam could be a little bit more subtle and stop embarrassing Dean right from the get-go.

Not much time went by before Sam declared that he was going to sleep and Jack decided to turn on the tv at a reasonable volume. Dean had nothing to complain about, seeing as he had just gotten the love of his life back — the newest and best revelation he had ever had — except for the fact that said love was having a staring contest with the floor, not daring to look up at Dean just yet. The tension in the air was palpable as Dean turned around with Cas’s name on his tongue.

Dean was exhausted after a long and tiring day, but when he caught the angel’s eyes he couldn’t do anything but stare right back. He was afraid that if he stopped looking Castiel might disappear, and so he invited him to join him on the bed.

Sam had begun snoring not long after his head hit the pillow and when Cas laughed softly at him it gave Dean the perfect opportunity to examine him closely. He seemed fine, not a scratch on him and no puncture wounds in his neck. It looked like the djinn hadn’t had time to get to him. The relief flooded Dean and settled in his bones. He felt saturated, full of love and knew that he now had fulfilled his quota of hunting for the rest of his goddamn life.

They sat against the headboard for most of the night, Dean’s eyelids droopy while Cas told him stories in the softest voice Dean thought he had ever heard. He barely got a single word in, but listened happily and ended up unintentionally dozing off against Cas’s shoulder. He needed the sleep, though he didn’t get very much of it.

Before he really fell off the edge of wakefulness into the bright blue sea in his dreams he had a thought about how wrong he had been. Maybe he was gay after all. Or maybe he just liked Cas. There hadn’t really been anyone else in his life for a long while. To Dean it didn't even really matter anyway. Having Cas right there beside him was all that mattered in the end.


	6. The Aftermath

Dean woke up to the sound of his brother laughing loudly. He wasn’t used to hearing Sam laugh so freely, so he sat up to look around the motel room. He found Jack, Cas, and Sam sitting at the table, looking intently at the tv screen, from the looks of which was showing some sort of talk show. 

Dean felt very well rested, despite the fact that his back hurt a bit after sitting up for most of the night, but he couldn’t really blame anyone but himself for that. He picked up his clothes and went to change and brush his teeth in the bathroom. He almost clapped Cas on the shoulder as he passed, but then thought twice about it and kept his hand to himself instead. They hadn’t talked about them yet, and Dean didn’t know if what happened yesterday only happened because they were both happy that Cas was alive and well. They had held hands, but Cas didn’t know about the note and the implications behind the way he had been revived. He was afraid to find out if Cas even felt the same and he didn’t want to be the one to start that conversation.

“Sleep well, Dean?” Sam asked, once he walked back out to gather with the others.

Dena just grumbled something, not really knowing how to answer to Sam’s clearly teasing tone.

He averted his eyes when he could feel Cas look up at him, but couldn’t help the blush that spread across his cheeks. He scooted past them as quickly as he had come, and went to sit on his bed instead.

It didn’t take long before the programme they’d been watching ended and Sam stood up. With his coat in hand he announced that he and Jack would go around to the families and help them get their loved ones back. With a roll of his eyes Dean tossed him the keys to the Impala, but instead of a thank you the only thing Sam gave him was a wink, just before he nearly dragged the kid with him out the door.

“Guess it’s just you and me now, Cas,” Dean said, trying to lighten the mood. He lifted his eyes up to look at the other man and instantly regretted it. The vulnerable look on Cas’s face made Dean squirm.

“Jack told me about how you guys already killed the monster,” Cas piped up from where he was still sitting at the table. The intensity of his stare made it impossible for Dean to look away. “I shouldn’t have been so careless earlier; I apologize. It was stupid of me.”

“Hey, no, it’s alright, Cas.” Dean stood up to walk over to Cas, who had visibly started shaking. “Come on. You’re okay now.” Cas’s eyes were filling up with tears quickly, but Dean wiped them away before they even began to fall. He pulled Cas up from the chair and slowly started stripping him of his clothes, carefully watching Cas for his reaction. “There’s nothing to worry about. We’re all a bit reckless sometimes, but the important thing is you’re okay now.”

He gave Cas a new reassurance every time an article of clothing fell to the ground. Dean had already decided for him that what he needed most right now was a hot shower. If he was surprised with how willingly Cas followed his lead as he was directed towards the bathroom, his surprise doubled when Cas’s long fingers came up to pull at the hem of Dean’s t-shirt.

Cas unabashedly stripped himself naked while Dean turned on the spray, but one look at Cas’s body made Dean too self-conscious to take off his own clothes. Cas didn’t care, though, and only moments later they were standing face-to-face under the warm water, breathlessly taking a moment to look at each other in the cramped space of the shower stall. Cas only stopped shaking after Dean had massaged the shampoo thoroughly into his scalp, skirted wandering fingers over his back, and whispered kind words into his skin.

The water washed away their tears, but couldn’t hide the fact that Dean choked out a sob, having held it in for too long. Cas held him close in comfort.

A while later they were lying on top of the covers, fully clothed, bodies and faces turned towards one another, as they expressed their feelings in loving touches and sweet caresses instead of spoken words. Neither of them had ever been good at expressing their emotions out loud, but the hands that roamed each others bodies, brushed away stray tears and lingered over plush lips said it all anyway.

Dean had been worried about nothing earlier. He loved this angel in front of him, and the way Cas leaned forward to put his lips on Dean’s made it clear that the feeling was mutual. “Why did we wait so long to do this?” Cas muttered, sighing and kissing Dean once again, slow and languid, taking their time because they didn’t have anywhere else to be.

“I think we’re done with hunting for good,” Dean said, to which Cas just laughed.

They didn’t meet Sam and Jack again before well into the afternoon, but when they entered the motel room they didn’t seem surprised to find the pair watching tv, Dean with his feet in Cas lap. Every stone figure had been restored back to their flesh and blood, but some of them had been there for so long they needed to get dropped off at the hospital. As soon as they were cleared and promised to be fine, Sam and Jack had left the overjoyed families alone. Though some of them had had their doubts at first, no one had questioned their methods as they saved their loved ones, and every family had been too surprised to even ask why they were all turned to stone. Sam said they should probably go before anyone came looking for them with questions they didn’t have the answers to.

They packed up pretty quickly, and only needed Sam to check them out of the motel room before they could go. It was while they were carrying their bags to the trunk that Cas noticed the note on the dashboard, the text clearly visible in the afternoon sun.

“Dean?” He turned around to look quizzically at Dean, clearly not knowing what to make of it.

“Oh.” Dean’s face whitened when he saw the note. “Jack must have put it there when they took the car. I totally forgot about it.”

“True love’s kiss?” Cas asked.

At that Dean had to look down to hide his face. He could feel the blush creeping up on him, and belatedly told Cas about how he had actually kissed him while he was kinda-unconscious in the hope that it would break the spell.

When Sam come back out he found them heavily making out, Dean having shoved Cas up against the Impala with his hands inside Cas’s trenchcoat. Sam muttered something incomprehensible in passing, before he threw himself into the backseat with Jack.

Dean hadn’t been this happy in a long time and it showed. He held Cas’s hand in his over the gearshift all the way home.

Dean was carefree as they entered the bunker, but no one reacted like he thought they would. Bobby merely rolled his eyes, mumbled “idjits” with a small smile on his face, and kept on reading his newspaper. Mary clapped him on the shoulder with a “congratulations,” before hugging them both and saying that she had always considered Castiel one of her boys. Charlie was ecstatic with joy, barely able to contain herself as she jumped up and down, while every other hunter in the bunker at the moment didn’t have that much of a reaction. The most important opinion to Dean about his newfound relationship was that of his brother. They had spent their whole lives together and despite Sam not showing obvious disgust, he hadn’t said anything nice either.

When they were carrying trays of food from the kitchen to the war table for their family reunion dinner, Sam asked to hold him back for just a minute. “You look happy,” he said. “I’m happy that you’re happy, Dean. You deserve it.” Sam sent him a grin before going to join the others.

Dean couldn’t keep the smile off of his own face for the rest of the night, and made sure to sit as close to Castiel as he possibly could. When he caught Cas’s eyes he could feel the love rushing through his veins and knew that their night was just beginning. This was the start of their life together.


End file.
